The transition periods of the Tahtacılar in Yılmazköy, Aydın province

The Turkish people, whose birth place was Central Asia, is one of the oldest nations in history. Throughout history, the Turks have created a rich cultural heritage and passed it on from generation to generation while maintaining their cultural codes. The Tahtacılar, who is one of the colors of Turkish culture, came from Central Asia with great migration. They are scattered in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Marmara Regions in our country. The Tahtacılar who is famous with their nomadic lifestyle, have been called so because their livelihood depended on woodworking. The Tahtacılar who is one of the Alevî-Turkmen community, have been a closed society. However, after the proclamation of the Republic, they began to move to a permanent settlement and opened their doors to the outside world. The Tahtacılar who own an original culture, have continued their traditions that they inherited from their ancestors. The transition periods of human life have contributed to the formation of this culture. There are many traditions, beliefs and practices around these transition periods. In this study, we have addressed the beliefs and practices of The Tahtacılar of Yılmazköy around the transition periods of human life. The introduction contains the subject of the study, purpose and methods used in the study and literature review about Tahtacılar and their transitional periods. In the first chapter beliefs and practices related to birth which is the first of the transition periods are discussed under the headings of prenatal, birth order and postnatal period. The circumcision period, before the circumcision, circumcision order and after the circumcision are discussed in the second chapter. In the third chapter the period of military service was discussed under the headings before, during and after the military service. In the fourth chapter, beliefs and practices around the marriage period are examined under the headings before marriage, during marriage and after marriage. In the fifth chapter we have examined death, which is the last of the transitional periods under the headings beliefs and practices that inform about death and prevent it, beliefs and practices observed at the time of death, preparation of the burial, beliefs and practices observed during and after burial, beliefs and practices related to mourning and condolences, commemoration of death, beliefs and practices related to the ceremonies. In the conclusion, a general evaluation was made based on the findings obtained in the study. In this study, we have determined the beliefs and practices around the transition periods of human life among the Tahtacılar of Yılmazköy, Aydın Province. It is aimed to carry the Turkish cultural heritage to the future using the concrete data obtained as a result of the study.